OBAMA SYRIA SOUNDBITE 1

The following soundbite is from President Barack Obama's address to the nation Tuesday evening, explaining his decision to prepare for possible military strikes on Syria.

The president said he was against any military involvement until it became evident that the government of President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons on August 21 that killed more than a thousand people, including hundreds of children.

President Barack Obama:

"The images from this massacre are sickening: men, women, children lying in rows killed by poison gas, others foaming at the mouth, gasping for breath, a father clutching his dead children, imploring them to get up and walk. On that terrible night, the world saw in gruesome detail the terrible nature of chemical weapons and why the overwhelming majority of humanity has declared them off limits."